Here''s the dream. I plan to be debt-free on land, buy a good cruising boat suitable for six people or more (40'' plus), and be outfitted and ready to sail through the Pacific and beyond in about four-five years. My wife is supportive, my son is intrigued, and we''ll still have some money to put toward retirement. All this involves selling our SF Bay Area home which has greatly appreciated in value in the last seven years to finance the plan. I think I''ll even be able to squeeze in a cruising budget that could hold me for at least 2-3 years.

But first, I need to learn how to sail and get some cruising experience!

I''m fortunate to have a wife who supports the dream, I''m turning my attentions to the practical considerations of supplementing my income while living the cruising lifestyle (learnig diesel mechanics, for one), and am giving myself about five years to reach that goal. The five years is partially to wear down the debt and gain the requisite sailing experience to do this.

My wife has even tossed out the notion of retiring to the Philippines (she was born there) so our retirement finances could reach further, and it''s a possibility.

Chris.. thats quite a dream, love it... BUT.. don''t sell the house until you and your wife and son and anyone else who will be cruising with you get some cruising experience. You might find that just sailing around the bay area and off shore or to Mexico or Hawaii once in a while in your own boat will be enough to satisfy that dream, and a warm house is a nice thing to come back to...don''t burn your bridges until you are sure the cruising life is for you...spend a week on a boat even if its at a marina...just get some kind of taste of what your in for first.... Rick R

Chris
Follow the dream but I agree with Ric. Make sure you like what you think the drean will be. I started sailing when I was 47. I am now 54 and Suzie and I are setting out on our extended world trip in April 2002. We had an 8 year plan. I too was fortunate. My wife is a very good sailor and after owning a25fter for a couple of years we bought or current yacht(see our personal page)set up asailing school, got all my "tickets" and we are counting down. Just sold the house, moving out in a few months to rent whlie the $accumulate in the super fund, retire at 55 and off.

My husband and I are also on the 5 year plan. I was only introduced to sailing two years ago, my husband has been sailing most of his life. I have no doubt this is the right choice for us, but we have no blue water experience. We plan to gain some by crewing on one of the Boat US ocean races (Hampton to Bermuda, or Virgin Gorda) or maybe take a long charter vacation. We hope to do this in the next year or two, before selling our house and buying the perfect boat. If you are like us we read every possible book/article we can get our hands on about ''The Dream''. Gaining experience has just been one of the many recommendations from others who''ve moved on to the simplier life. Best of luck to you.

Jen
My bias is that racing and cruising are like chalk and cheeze. We ocean raced a 40 ft farr for some years and I have to say thatsome racers I have known have difficulty in making the transition to a gentler cruising lifestyle, because that is what true cruising is, a journey not a destination. There is nothing more off puting for me to have a modern hull shape that pounds in a seaway for the sake of a couple of extra knots and then bounces around at anchor when the sea and wind gets up. I think it is tremendous that you are thinking of doing a passage to experience it. I respectfully suggest you do so on a cruising, not a racing event as the two a light years apart. No disrespect however as a sailing school instructor might I also suggest that if you are seeking to be taught sailing , do so by yourself at a reputable school. regardless of how good a sailor hubby is, our experience is that often good sailors do not make good teachers and husbands teaching wives/partners is a often a lethal combination that destroys the sailing dream. Anyway for what it is worth there is my suggestion to consider
Hope to see you on the watersomewhere in the world. Best of luck in following your dream and if you want any books on cruising together, I can recommend a number.
Rob and Suzie
South Coast Sailing School
Australia

Sounds like a plan. My wife and I are thinking similarly. We''re both 34 currently, and have an almost 4 year old and a one year old. We''d like to take to the water in 5-7 years at the outside (my wife and I are still discussing the "when is the right time to take the kids" issue; I''m thinking younger & sooner, finances permitting). We''re pretty much debt free, but we''re not looking to come back so we''d like to make sure we can get the kids through college some day.

Everything I''ve heard or read suggests you don''t burn your bridges first. Also that you try extended vacation cruises, and living aboard the boat for a few months before you quite your day jobs. I''m trying to get my wife to go off to a women-only sailing program, or a class without me, to get her confidence up in her own skills. We have a few years to work on it, but we''re doing as much coastal cruising and weekending as we can now.

We know we''re going to need a different boat for the long haul, but we''re looking for the next few years to pack in as much experience as possible. This summer''s objective will be Anchoring; we''re going to try to NOT stay in as many marinas and moorings as we can.

There are now tons of books out there on the topic, written from a family perspective,m a women''s perspective, couples, etc. Still waiting for the "Cruising Pet''s Log" to show up in press <g>. We''re reading a lot; we have yet to take any firm & concrete steps towards the life though.

My best advice is to go for it , hope to do the same some day. One thought does come to mind, learn outboard motor repair, seems a real need in most parts of the world, even basic knowledge will help. Later and good luck MRT

I just turned 51 and my 5 year plan is just about complete. I am putting the house on the market in May, plan to move aboard my 41'' ketch in August and will leave this year or in May of 2001.
Making my old boat like new has cost me about 5 years of the cruising kitty leaving me in real money crunch. :-( Since I am a skilled blue collar electrician however, I had better stop whining and plan to strap the tools on to supplement my income if I want to circumanvigate.
I am looking for a skilled female first mate to help with the boat chores but without a doubt, I will leaving on those dates for the adventure of my life time.

Last spring I had an epiphany that I wanted to sail around the world when I retired. At the time I was dating this cute little Texan girl who thought it was pretty cool At the time I had never set foot on a sail boat. Any way after my little epiphany I learned how to sail last summer at a local club, and then spent my spare time muddling around the lake in a 8 home made pram honing my skills. Getting the sailing bug a little more, I bough my self a 82 Coronado 15 this past December, and have spent the last 4 months doing a ton of fiberglass work, painting and all around re-fit to it, I figure that it will be water ready in two weeks. I figured this boat will allow me to start chasing my dream, and give me some good experience before it is time for something bigger and better.

Being that I am only 25, and that there is a lot of time between 25-50/65 I was started getting depressed because collage life is behind me now, and I was starting to settle into the daily pace of the desk job, and realizing that I would have to buckle down and be like the rest of the people in this country, and work the same job for the next 25 years. Then, my cute little (now wife to be) Taxan girl had an epiphany. She always wanted to become a travel nurse, but never had a chance to. Well seeing me always working on my boat and having been bitten by the sailing bug her self. She thought that we could kill two birds with one stone, She would sign on as a traveling nurse, and pick assignments in coastal cites, and then we would just sail from job to job, hopefully sailing from the east coast to west coast.

I figured I will also need to take a job so that I can keep saving for retirement, but I dont want to be flipping burgers. I am currently working for an airline as a Aircraft Structures Engineer. Most of it is sheet metal stuff but there is a fair amount of composite stuff. So I figure I might be able to hitch up with a local boat yard fixing boats while not at sea.

As for the sailing experience, she had one day sail on a 36 Catalina in Wa. St. , and I have a couple hours in a sunfish and pram. I figured our little dingy and local club will help fill us in on the rest. This evening, we seriously sat down together and figured out the finance of the matter, and realized that by 2003 we would have all but our house paid for, and by 2006 we could probably sell the house and pick up a good used 40. But between now and then we have a lot of sailing to learn.

I figured we would do this for a couple years, until kids came along, and then play it by ear after that until we retire. Then I want to circumnavigate the globe.

Well thats my story, if anyone has some advice on what other avenues of work (with my background) I could do while traveling let me know. I figure I might also pick up an A & P license also since they are also in pretty high demand, and diesel repair course also.

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